South Side Condos

Chicago’s South Side has something that the north side does not: a world championship baseball team that has drawn new attention and appreciation for this vast area that was already a winner in many other ways including having a range of condominiums, from lofts, to ones in vintage buildings and high rises. The boundaries of this vast area are Lake Michigan to the east, Roosevelt Road on the north, the Indiana State line on the south and the Western Avenue on the west. The South Side is known as home to the Chicago White Sox who play their games at U.S. Cellular Field at 35th Street and Shields Avenue.

The team’s success as World Series Champions in 2005 has given a boost to the South Side in the form of new businesses and housing including condos. On game days, thirty thousand fans make their way to the field and have gotten a chance to see the neighborhood where housing tends to be less expensive than on the north side. Though housing is less costly, the area is well-situated for access to expressways and public transportation via bus lines and elevated trains. It also has a range of restaurants and eateries, from the neighborhood tavern where you can grab a beer and a sandwich to upscale, white table cloth restaurants. The neighborhood around the stadium is teeming with new development.

Dozens of condos and single-family homes are taking the place of former industrial sites and emerging from rehabbed brick warehouses and factories.. A new condo project is the Lofts at Bridgeport Place at 1038 W. 35th St. A one bedroom with den starts at $249,000; two bedrooms from $304,900 and two bedrooms with dens (dubbed luxury lofts) start from $412,900. These loft-style condos feature open floor plans, 11-foot ceilings, granite counters, exposed brickwork, and dramatic skyline views. As is often the case in Chicago history, the Great Fire of 1871 first spurred residential growth and created new neighborhoods in Chicago. The South Side is no exception.

Industry began relocating to this neighborhood in the 1860s and 1870s when the area became famous as the site for the Union Stockyards and the Pullman Palace Car Company. The city of Chicago annexed the South Side in 1880. Wealthy Chicagoans had already started to move to the area. By the 1870s and ‘80s rows of stately mansions lined Prairie Avenue and the neighborhood was a fashionable place where families with names like Armour, Field, Kimball and Pullman lived. The Prairie district claims several landmark structures including the Clarke and Glessner Houses. The Clarke House was built in 1849 by a wealthy hardware dealer. It is one of the city’s oldest buildings and a brilliant example of the Greek Revival Style of architecture.

The Glessner House was built in 1886 and is treasured for its innovative floor plan, Romanesque-revival style facade and remains today a reminder of why this district was once referred to as “a sunny street that held the siften few.” A $250 million, 487-unit residential project is planned for the Prairie Avenue district. The towers, to be called X/0, will go up on 2.23 acre site on Prairie Avenue between 16th and 18th Streets. Condo dwellers in this new development will have a bird’s eye view of this historic buildings nearby. A 44-story tower with 275 condos will face Prairie Avenue. A 34-story, 202-unit tower at the southwest corner of the development site will face 18th Street. Condos will consist of one-bedroom, one-bath units; two-bedroom, two-bath units; and three-bedroom, three-bath units. Prices will range from the mid-$200,000s to more than $2 million.

A focal point of the project will be a two-story amenities building called Spa X/O. It will include a rooftop sundeck and misting park as well as a ground-floor grotto with indoor waterfalls, saunas and a pool. Whether your condo of choice is a loft, a renovated unit in an older building or a newly constructed condo in a high rise, you will find it on Chicago’s South Side and the price is likely to be less expensive than it would be just miles north.

Condo development is revitalizing this neighborhood that is sure to remain a secure investment as well as a lively, interesting place to live.